India's Infant Mortality Rate: What The Numbers Reveal

India's infant mortality rate (IMR) recorded an 8% decline in 2016, its sharpest fall since 2010, government data released last month showed. The government attributed the fall to a higher number of institutional deliveries and campaigns to promote breastfeeding and immunization.

In this fact file we analyse where India has succeeded and where it needs to do more to save its infants.

The infant mortality rate or number of deaths per 1000 live births before a child reaches the age of one, fell to 34 in 2016 from 37 in 2015, according to sample registration survey. Since IMR tracks infant deaths, the lower the IMR the better.

Estimated infant deaths fell to 8.4 lakhs in 2016 from 9.3 lakhs in 2015, according to a PIB release dated September 29, 2017.

Though IMR has been decreasing consistently, an 8% decline in 2016 is the steepest fall recorded since 2010.